Shadows of the former government that they are, the Enclave is a smoky mirror of the Old World United States. Few in the wasteland are privy to how it functions today, which may have played a part in the Enclave's continued survival.
I. Organization
Viewing themselves as the continuance of the United States government, the Enclave is organized much like the former U.S., though on a scale to match their small size as an organization, and with a few provisions. They are led by an elected President, who also has a Vice President. In contrast with pre-War America, the Enclave's President does not have a limited term, and it is not known whether a President may resign, or if they're expected to serve for their entire lives. While the Enclave also has a legislative branch in the form of a Congress, there has never been any indication of whether or not a judicial branch exists.
The military is organized somewhat differently from the pre-War U.S. military. As a whole it exists as the Department of the Army, with no additional branches like the Air Force or Navy. A department of the military is devoted to research and development, and is responsible for allowing this comparatively small faction to have a significant technological edge over every other power in the wasteland, including the Brotherhood of Steel. Energy barriers, Deathclaw domestication units, and advanced power armor developed after the war are just a few examples of what's standard fare for the Enclave.
II. Objectives
The Enclave, like the Brotherhood, has suffered schisms that have lead to different beliefs and missions emerging from different parts of the faction.
Originally, the Enclave may have hoped to simply rise up to claim their place as rightful governors of the post-War America and it's surviving citizens. Perhaps returning from the oil rig to the mainland and encountering Super Mutants first changed this perspective. Whatever the case, for most the decades that the Enclave has been on the mainland in force, their policy has been one of extermination towards all mutant life. No one outside the ranks of the Enclave itself was considered a pure enough specimen of humanity or American citizenship to be spared. Though the Enclave has suffered heavy losses at every attempt to purge the Wasteland, it's entirely possible that Enclave pockets exist that still follow this directive.
The first known sign of any change in policy came when Colonel Augustus Autumn refused to fulfill President Eden's order to poison the D.C. water supply. If Project Purity Anna Holt is to be believed, and Autumn's own words are sincere, there are those in the Enclave who simply want to reform the government and rebuild pre-War America, including protecting its people. What exactly this would mean for the people remains unknown, as the Brotherhood takes control of Project Purity.
Considering how secretive the Enclave is and how thoroughly routed they have been, it's difficult to say which is the prevailing ideology.
III. Life in the Enclave
Members of the Enclave are fiercely loyal to its ideals, and it's debatable whether this loyalty is born of conviction, brainwashing, or both. Regardless, the members of their powerful military arm are fearless, efficient and brutal combatants, and their scientists rarely appear to demonstrate any qualms about the ethics of the work they may be doing. Civilian life in the Enclave is a total mystery. At most we can assume that the families of Enclave members are well protected and looked after, but it can also be reasonably assumed that it has been made difficult by the repeated fall of Enclave bases across the American Wasteland.
Sources: In-game texts/dialogue; Fallout 1,2,3 and New Vegas, Brotherhood and Fallout Bible
Shadows of the former government that they are, the Enclave is a smoky mirror of the Old World United States. Few in the wasteland are privy to how it functions today, which may have played a part in the Enclave's continued survival.
I. Organization
Viewing themselves as the continuance of the United States government, the Enclave is organized much like the former U.S., though on a scale to match their small size as an organization, and with a few provisions. They are led by an elected President, who also has a Vice President. In contrast with pre-War America, the Enclave's President does not have a limited term, and it is not known whether a President may resign, or if they're expected to serve for their entire lives. While the Enclave also has a legislative branch in the form of a Congress, there has never been any indication of whether or not a judicial branch exists.
The military is organized somewhat differently from the pre-War U.S. military. As a whole it exists as the Department of the Army, with no additional branches like the Air Force or Navy. A department of the military is devoted to research and development, and is responsible for allowing this comparatively small faction to have a significant technological edge over every other power in the wasteland, including the Brotherhood of Steel. Energy barriers, Deathclaw domestication units, and advanced power armor developed after the war are just a few examples of what's standard fare for the Enclave.
II. Objectives
The Enclave, like the Brotherhood, has suffered schisms that have lead to different beliefs and missions emerging from different parts of the faction.
Originally, the Enclave may have hoped to simply rise up to claim their place as rightful governors of the post-War America and it's surviving citizens. Perhaps returning from the oil rig to the mainland and encountering Super Mutants first changed this perspective. Whatever the case, for most the decades that the Enclave has been on the mainland in force, their policy has been one of extermination towards all mutant life. No one outside the ranks of the Enclave itself was considered a pure enough specimen of humanity or American citizenship to be spared. Though the Enclave has suffered heavy losses at every attempt to purge the Wasteland, it's entirely possible that Enclave pockets exist that still follow this directive.
The first known sign of any change in policy came when Colonel Augustus Autumn refused to fulfill President Eden's order to poison the D.C. water supply. If Project Purity Anna Holt is to be believed, and Autumn's own words are sincere, there are those in the Enclave who simply want to reform the government and rebuild pre-War America, including protecting its people. What exactly this would mean for the people remains unknown, as the Brotherhood takes control of Project Purity.
Considering how secretive the Enclave is and how thoroughly routed they have been, it's difficult to say which is the prevailing ideology.
III. Life in the Enclave
Members of the Enclave are fiercely loyal to its ideals, and it's debatable whether this loyalty is born of conviction, brainwashing, or both. Regardless, the members of their powerful military arm are fearless, efficient and brutal combatants, and their scientists rarely appear to demonstrate any qualms about the ethics of the work they may be doing. Civilian life in the Enclave is a total mystery. At most we can assume that the families of Enclave members are well protected and looked after, but it can also be reasonably assumed that it has been made difficult by the repeated fall of Enclave bases across the American Wasteland.
Sources: In-game texts/dialogue; Fallout 1,2,3 and New Vegas, Brotherhood and Fallout Bible
